


Egg Festival Stories

by girljen



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:54:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21617173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girljen/pseuds/girljen
Summary: It's spring, and that means it's time for the Egg Festival! Follow the citizens of Pelican Town as they ramp up egg production, dye eggs, set up the festival, and enjoy the day.
Comments: 5
Kudos: 57





	1. The Eggs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a busy season at the Ranch! Shane and Jas collect the morning's eggs, and solve the mystery of why Sapphire the blue hen is being so broody and mean.

“Jas, wake up. Time to get some eggs.”

Jas rolled over and groaned. “Do I have to?”

“Honestly, no.” Shane sat on the edge of her bed. “You could stay in bed. But then you wouldn’t get to see the chickens. And my job would be harder without your help.”

“Can we do it later?”

“Nope. Believe me, if we could, I’d do this at noon.” Shane chuckled.

“But I’m cold…” Jas whined. “...and I don’t wanna get dressed, and I don’t wanna do my hair…”

“Oh! Nah, you don’t have to get dressed. Chickens don’t care if you’re in your jammies! I’ll pull your hair up in a ponytail. Just hop out of bed, get your shoes on--”

“--can I wear my coat?” Jas asked.

Shane pressed his lips together. It wasn’t cold out! He was going out in shorts! “Eh...sure. Jammies and a coat, chickens don’t care.”

Jas rolled out of bed. She stepped into her pink tennis shoes, pulled on her puffy purple coat, and turned her back to Shane. “You can do my ponytail now.”

“Yeah, let’s see if I can.” Shane grabbed a hair tie from on top of the dollhouse. He knew better than to try to pull her hair up with a rubber band again. He gathered his little cousin’s hair up in a passable ponytail. He wrapped the hair tie around it once, then twice, struggling as he wrenched the hair through the hair tie a third time.

“Ow!”

“Sorry. I’ve never had long hair, I dunno how to do this.”

“That’s why it’s better if Aunt Marnie does my hair!”

“Yeah, probably so. But look! You’re ready! And now we can go see the chickens.”

“Can I pet Bluebell?”

“Yeah, as long as she’s in the mood.”

Out in the coop, Shane knelt down to Jas’s level. “Alright, Jas. We have three jobs today. We have to collect the eggs, of course. We have to clean the coop, and we have to clean the eggs. We’ll start by collecting eggs. I have two baskets here. One is the good basket, the bigger one. The other is the oops basket, for cracked eggs. When you get a good egg, set it very gently in the good basket. And when you get an oops egg, set it very gently in the oops basket.”

“Why? The oops eggs are cracked anyway!”

“Because I don’t wanna wash the basket.” Shane shrugged. “Now, if you see a chicken sitting on a nest, and there are eggs in it, leave her alone. She’s trying to protect her eggs, and she’ll bite.”

“Okay!” Jas walked over to an unoccupied nest, with five eggs inside. She grabbed an egg in each hand, turning them over carefully to examine them. “Good eggs!”

“Alright! Put them in the good basket.”

Jas set the eggs down gently, one in each corner. She reached up to scratch her face.

“Nope! Your hands are dirty now, eggs can have germs on them.” He blocked Jas’s hand. “Use your sleeve to itch your face if you need to.”

Shane and Jas collected the eggs with little trouble. There were a few that had to go to the oops basket, and Jas missed one of them, but for the most part, things went well. Shane was able to carry four eggs at a time because of his bigger hands, which made Jas a little jealous, but he reassured her that she’d be able to carry more eggs as she got bigger.

“Shane! There’s a chicken sitting on a nest and I know there’s eggs in it. Will you get them?”

Shane laughed. “Oh, that’s Sapphire, she’s mean as heck! She is the last chicken I wanna take eggs from!”

“Why is she sitting on them? Do they have baby chickens in them?”

“They better not!” Shane laughed again. “Otherwise, Mr. Loverboy’s been sneaking around in the coop when he shouldn’t be!”

“Why?”

“If a rooster is in the hens’ coop, he’ll mate with the hens and put baby chickens in the eggs. We don’t want baby chickens. So I’ll grab those eggs from Sapphire, and we’ll check to see if they have baby chickens in them.”

“But she’s mean! She might bite you!”

“Yeah, probably.” Shane pulled on a pair of thick leather work gloves and a pair of chunky, unwieldy safety goggles. “While I do this, will you please grab the rake, go over to the nest box, and rake the top layer of hay up?”

“How come?”

“Because it’s dirty and we need to replace it.”

“Okay.” Jas wandered over to the wall with the garden tools and grabbed the small rake she used to rake up leaves with Aunt Marnie. 

Meanwhile, Shane knelt down in front of the nest and its deep blue guardian.

Sapphire sized him up. She let out a deep growl, the most un-chickenlike noise Shane had ever heard. The first time Sapphire had growled at him, months ago, he had been surprised. But given her surly demeanor and tendency to brood, he expected it this time around.

“Alright, Sapphire. You don’t like me,” he said, “And I love you but I’d rather not deal with you. Ever. But we gotta get this done and see if Mr. Loverboy knocked you up.”

Sapphire stood. She pointed her wings toward the ground and fluffed out her chest feathers, revealing bald patches from plucking feathers to line the nest. 

“Yeah, I get it,” Shane said, rolling his eyes. “You’re gonna kill me if I take your eggs. But I gotta do it.”

Sapphire lunged, grabbing Shane’s jacket and holding on for dear life! Shane lifted his arm and took Sapphire’s feet in his other hand, flipping her over. She let go of his jacket and pecked his stomach, grabbing and twisting to tear his t-shirt and the flesh underneath.

“Dammit! Jas! Help!” 

Jas dropped the rake and ran over. “What do I do?!”

“Grab an empty basket and get every egg from this nest!”

Jas sprinted over to the wall, got an empty wire basket, and ran back. Shane maneuvered Sapphire so she was under his arm, tucked away like a gridball. She was indignant, screaming and clucking and pecking Shane’s jacket. 

Carefully, Jas put each egg into the basket, then held it up to Shane. “Here!”

“Nope! I’m busy, walk it over to the sink.”

Jas walked backwards to the sink, watching in wide-eyed horror as Shane wrestled Sapphire down to the nest. His wound was starting to bleed through his t-shirt.

Jas carefully set the eggs up on the counter near the sink. Shane jogged over and grabbed the flashlight from the counter.

“Shane, you have an owie!”

“I know. I’ll deal with it in a minute.”

“What’s the flashlight for?”

“Oh, this is cool. We’re gonna see if there are any chicks in these eggs. Look!” Shane held an egg up to the flashlight and turned it on. The bright light made the egg glow an eerie yellow, brighter at the top, with a red spot and thin red veins throughout.

“Woah, that’s gross!” Jas grimaced.

“It kind of is. But guess what? It’s a chick!”

“Yay! More babies!”

“They will be cute,” Shane said. “But dammit, this means I gotta figure out how Mr. Loverboy’s getting in, and fix it, and that’s more grain to buy, and I hope the farmer wants a new chick or two, and…”

“Babies!” Jas jumped in the air. “I wanna pet them when they hatch!”

“It might be a while,” Shane warned. “It’ll probably take about two weeks for the eggs to hatch. And then we’ll have to wait until Sapphire stops being protective. But we’ll get there. Now, wait here.”

Shane walked the eggs back to Sapphire’s nest. Sapphire jumped and lunged at Shane. This time, he got the upper hand, catching her by the feet and holding her at arm’s length. “Dammit, Sapphire, I’m helping! I’m putting your eggs back!” He set the basket down, wrestled Sapphire back into gridball position, and set the eggs down in the nest. With a few vulgar parting words, he set Sapphire down. She thanked him by taking a parting shot at his leg, just barely breaking the skin.

Shaking his head, Shane walked back to the nest box. Much to his surprise, Jas had raked up all the dirty hay, bagged it, and replaced it with clean hay.

“Thanks, Jas! I really appreciate it!” He headed for the kitchen door. “I gotta get myself patched up. I’ll set you up with Marnie to clean those eggs and throw out the oopsies.”

“Do you have to go to the clinic?”

“I probably should. I don’t want to, but chicken eggs have lots of germs on them. That’s why we don’t touch our faces in the coop, and why we wash our hands after we touch chickens or eggs. I got my tummy torn up, so I’ll be in the shower.”

With that, Shane went inside. Jas was close behind, carrying two baskets of eggs.

“Good morning, Jas!” Marnie took a sip of her coffee. “I heard a rumor that we’ll be cleaning eggs.”

Jas held up one finger to interrupt. “It’s NOT a rumor, and spreading gossip is wrong. We’re really, actually going to be cleaning eggs. Shane was going to help me, but one of the chickens bit him and now he has to put a bandage on it.”

Shane came downstairs in a bathrobe, clutching his belly. “True story, Sapphire tried to rip me open.”

“What? Why?”

“Broody. And apparently, Mr. Loverboy got into the coop at some point, so we’re gonna have chicks.”

Marnie shook her head. “Ugh. Did you check the other eggs?”

“Nope. Too busy getting attacked.”

Marnie turned to Jas. “Alright. Wanna hold the flashlight while we check these eggs?”

“Yeah! I hope there’s more babies!”

With a parting shot about wanting to serve up some Coq au Vin, Marnie and Jas made their way to the coop again while Shane took a shower and patched himself up.


	2. The Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily and Leah open up the Community Center to anyone who wants to dye eggs. Vincent and Jodi, Elliott, and Caroline and Abigail take them up on it.

“Vincent, will you read the sign on the bulletin board, please?” Jodi pointed at the bulletin board outside Pierre’s store.

“Hmm.” Vincent screwed up his face and looked at the sign. “Who...wants...to...dye...eggs?” He looked up at Jodi with a bright grin. “ME!”

“Me too! That sounds fun! But where do we go to do it?”

“I dunno.” Vincent shrugged.

“Me neither, Vincent. That’s why we have to read the sign. Keep going.”

“Pell...eye...oh! I know this one! Pelican Town! Pelican Town com...mew...ni....community! Center! It’s at the Pelican Town Community Center, come on Mom, let’s go!” With that, he started to run, dragging Jodi behind him. She giggled to herself. She knew exactly what was going to happen, she just wanted Vincent to read it and think he got to choose what they did that day.

Inside the community center, Emily and Leah had set up a large table. Covered in newsprint, it was littered with baskets of hard boiled eggs, paint palettes, cups of dye, stencils, glitter, and stickers.

Leah was hard at work, painting intricate white designs on a purple egg. She didn’t seem to see Jodi and Vincent enter.

Emily stood up and greeted them warmly. “Vincent! Ms. Jodi! Are you ready to color some eggs?”

“Yeah!” Vincent ran up to the table. “I’m gonna make one that looks like a gross bug! And one that looks like an alien! And one that looks like my face! And one that looks like a gridball!”

“One at a time, please, Vincent,” Jodi said.

“Yes ma’am, but hey Emily! Can I also make one that looks like a chicken? ‘Cause that would be funny!”

“You can make any eggs you want! And if you mess up,” she said, gesturing toward a basket, “Put your messed up eggs in this basket. Mr. Gus will take all the mess-ups and turn them into egg salad.”

“That sounds gross!” Vincent took a seat.

“You’d be surprised, Vincent.” Jodi sat down next to him. “Foods that sound gross can end up tasting really yummy. Do you know what an eel is?”

“Oh yeah!! Those super cool water snakes! They’re so fast! Sam showed me one!”

“Did you know that they taste really good when they’re fried?”

“DISGUSTING!” Vincent cackled. He grabbed an egg and some green dye.

“They actually taste kind of like crab.”

“Oh! I like crab!” Using a wire scoop, Vincent dunked his egg in green dye.

“See? Even if a food sounds gross, it’s worth a try. You might be missing out on some delicious foods if you only choose them based on what they’re called.”

“Well said, Ms. Jodi.” Emily handed her an egg. “What are you going to do with this egg?”

“Thanks. Do you have a white crayon? I’d like to draw some clouds on this, then put it in blue dye so it looks like a sky with some fluffy little clouds.”

Emily handed Jodi a white crayon. “That’ll be so cute!”

While Jodi drew clouds on her egg, Vincent waited for his to soak up all the green color. While he waited, he doodled on the newsprint.

“Mom, look! I’m drawing a mutant bug. And that’s what I’m gonna put on my egg. It’s green and it has black stripes, and look at its gross face! It looks all mean! Do you think that if I draw it scary enough, someone will actually get scared of it?”

“Only one way to find out!” Jodi chuckled. 

“Oh...darn it!” Leah shook her head and set her paintbrush down.

“Did you mess up?” Vincent asked. “You can put it in the mess up bucket so Gus can use it.”

Leah sighed. “I’m almost done, though.” She walked up to Vincent and showed him her egg. “See how most of these lines are smooth, thin curves? And this one’s all…” She picked up her paintbrush and pointed at a thick, shaky curve. “...yuck.” 

“Maybe if you turn it into a big curly que, and then make a few other big curly ques to match it, it would look like you meant to do that.”

“Hey, that might work!” Leah beamed. “And if it doesn’t, I can put it in the mess up bucket. I’d love to save it, though.” She dipped her brush in white paint and leaned down to her egg again.

“The only thing that rivals the beauty of this exquisite design is the beauty of the artist herself!” Elliott stood behind Leah, admiring her work.

She blushed, looking up and behind her. “Thank you, Elliott. I’ve spent all morning on this egg.”

“Is this seat taken?” he asked, gesturing to the chair beside Leah.

“No, I’m sitting at this one!” Vincent interrupted. “So I can sit on one side of Miss Leah and you can sit on the other side! I’m dyeing an egg green and then I’m gonna draw on it so it looks like a mutant bug!”

Elliott laughed. “That’s not the design I’d think to put on an egg for the Egg Festival…”

“I know!” Vincent smiled brightly. “Miss Penny says I’m creative!”

“Miss Penny is right about that, young man. Never lose that creativity.”

“Okay!” With that, Vincent got to work drawing stripes on his mutant bug egg.

“What kind of egg are you making, Elliott?” Leah asked.

He sighed. “Sadly, my artistic talent is nowhere near yours, my dear. It must be something simple. I would love to make an egg that looks like a tulip, ready to open and show its splendour and beauty to the world, but alas...I cannot draw.”

“I can,” Leah said, not looking up from her egg. The thick curls, covering up her one shaky-handed mistake, were looking intentional and beautiful. “You dye an egg, I’ll pencil in some petal lines, and then you paint over them.”

“That would work!” Elliott put an egg in yellow dye. He looked to Leah, still painting away, and sighed. “I must admit, I envy your artistic skills.”

“Thank you, Elliott.” Leah blushed and smiled. “They really are just skills, skills that can be learned. It takes time and practice...and the willingness to make terrible, silly mistakes.”

“Yeah!” Vincent piped up. “One time when I was little, I drew a picture of Jas, and it looked terrible! Her hair was too long on one side, and one of her eyes was too high, and her nose was too big, and it was just...no.”

“And what did you do after you realized you’d messed up?” Leah asked. 

“Crumpled it up! And threw it in the trash! But I missed so Miss Penny made me pick it up and put it in the trash can. And then I drew it again, and it was better! I mean, it’s not as good as I can draw Jas now, but it was better.”

“See?” Leah patted him on the back. “You learn, you practice, you mess up, you practice some more...that’s how you develop a skill. I could probably mulch all of Hidden Farm with the wood chips I have from all my messed up sculptures!” She turned to Elliott. “If you’d ever like to learn to draw, please let me know. I’d love to teach you.”

“I may take you up on that, darling.” Elliott’s eyes met Leah’s. He gazed deeply. She glanced up with a smile, looking back to her egg as her cheeks flushed red.

The day went on. Caroline and Abigail showed up, much to Jodi’s delight. Jodi and Caroline made simple designs--stripes, gradients, and cloudy skies--while chit-chatting and making plans to get a bottle of sparkling grape-cranberry rose wine from the farm for a girls’ night.

Abigail, meanwhile, set about dyeing eggs green and brown, drawing on blades of grass and speckles of dirt to camouflage the eggs. She cackled to herself. Sure, she’d have to work harder to find the eggs, but so would everyone else, and she’d recognize her own work.

True to his word, Vincent made a mutant bug, a glittery green alien, a gridball, and an egg that looked like Vincent making a funny face. 

By the end of the day, there were enough eggs for both a robust egg hunt and an egg salad that could feed all of Pelican Town, along with some deviled eggs.


	3. The Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gus makes the food for the Egg Festival every year. This year, on a spur of the moment decisions, he recruits a few of the Saloon patrons to help.

“Last call for alcohol!” Gus bellowed as he turned up the lights.

“Hey!” Pam pointed to the clock on the wall, her arm swaying as she tried to aim. “It’s only ten o’clock.”

“That’s right, ma’am, we’re closing early tonight for the Egg Festival tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“Someone’s gotta cook all that food! We’re havin’ fried eggs, boiled eggs, poached eggs, deviled eggs, scrambled eggs, chocolate eggs... you name it!” 

Pam grumbled something that Gus couldn’t understand, then slid her beer glass over. “One more, then.”

Gus refilled Pam’s beer. By the time he was done making the rounds, telling people why he was closing early, and getting their last orders, Pam had guzzled her drink and left.

“Clint! Willy! Your drinks are ready!”

Clint and Willy shrugged at each other, then walked up to the bar.

“I’ll let you keep drinking for free if you help me cook.” 

He slid a glass of red wine to the service stand. “Marnie! Your drink’s ready!”

“Thank you!” Marnie met Gus at the bar.

“And the offer that I gave the guys stands for you, too...I’ll let you drink for free if you help me cook.”

Willy took a big gulp of beer. “So how much free beer you willin’ to give us?”

Gus crossed his arms. “I will cover your tab until you are no longer useful.”

Marnie nodded. “Sounds like a good deal to me.” She took a seat next to Clint. “What’s the plan?”

“Tomorrow morning, I’ll be scrambling and frying eggs, the things that need to be done fresh. Poached eggs will be tomorrow, too. Tonight, we’re gonna deal with the things that need boiled eggs. Any of you ever worked in a commercial kitchen?”

“I have,” Willy said. “It was a terrible experience and I recommend it to nobody.”

“Coincidentally,” Gus said, giving Willy a sideways look, “I’ve worked in a commercial kitchen for more than 20 years and won’t stop until I physically can’t do the job anymore. It takes all kinds.”

Marnie raised her hand. “I worked at Honey’s Diner in Grampleton, but that was years and years ago. Before you came to Pelican Town.”

Gus’s face brightened. “Hey! I know Honey’s Diner! I worked there right out of the army! So you know DeeDee, right!”

Marnie affected a thick country accent. “Honey, it ain’t called Honey’s because someone named Honey works here, it’s called Honey’s because it’s yours, honey!”

Gus and Marnie erupted in peals of laughter. 

“So you know how to move through a TON of eggs! Great!” Gus patted Marnie on the shoulder. “Alright, guys. Bring your drinks, we’re gonna boil some eggs. We’re gonna make some egg salad, and we’re gonna do a deviled egg assembly line."

Gus pulled two baskets of eggs out of the fridge. One was full of ugly designs, the dyed eggs that had been messed up. One was full of clean, fresh, un-dyed eggs.

“This basket here,” Gus said, indicating the dyed eggs, “Will be our egg salad. Step one is to shell all the eggs. I want naked eggs in the mixing bowl--”

Willy giggled.

“--and shells in the trash. Willy! Can I get your help with that?”

“Can do! Make ‘em naked!” Willy got to work on a counter near the bar.

“Marnie and Clint, come on over here!” Marnie and Clint walked to a counter near the stove. “While I get these eggs boiled, I’ll set out the recipe and the ingredients for egg salad and get you two on the prep work.”

Clint took a drink of his beer. “Aw jeez. I don’t even cook for myself…”

Gus set down an armload of mustard, mayo, celery, scallions, parsley, and bottles of dried seasonings. He jogged back to the office and grabbed a laminated recipe sheet.

“Clint, you think you can handle some chopping and mixing?”

“Oh, he’s got me backing him up,” Marnie said. She pulled out a couple green cutting boards and handed one to Clint, along with a knife and a stack of green onions. “Here. Cut the roots off like this,” she said, chopping off the end of the onion, “Then cut them into little slices like this, up through the light green part.” She chopped the little green onion into tiny coin-like slices, then swept the dark green ends and the roots into the trash.

“Looks easy enough.” Clint shrugged and grabbed the knife.

“Really, it is. You won’t be able to go fast, at least not at first, since you don’t cook often. But it’s easy, and the little slices don’t have to be perfect, just about the same size as the others.”

Clint sliced the roots off the next green onion. He threw it away, then slowly made little slices, just like Marnie had shown him.

“You good?” Marnie asked.

“Yep!”

“Good. I’ll measure out the liquids and the herbs, you do the rest of the cutting.”

“Hey Clint!” Willy yelled from the other counter.

“What?

“You like bein’ bossed around by a woman?” Willy finished his beer.

Clint shrugged. “Yeah, if she knows what she’s doing.”

Willy howled with laughter and made a lewd comment about whips and chains. Gus covered his mouth and giggled. Marnie was clueless.

“Man, don’t be a creep!” Clint threw a handful of dark green onion leaves at Willy.

“I can’t help it! I’m a drunken sailor!”

Gus piped up. “You’re about to be a drunken sailor doin’ dishes!”

Willy wandered up to the bar. He drew up another pint, took a big drink, and walked over to the dish sink. “Alright, hit me with everything you got!” He slammed his beer down on the counter, sloshing foam out the sides, and rolled up his sleeves.

Clint and Marnie finished up their egg salad tasks. Marnie chopped up the naked eggs, mixed them in with the dressing and veggies, and dumped the whole thing in the serving bowl. Clint took the dirty dishes to the sink, trying in vain to convince Willy that he liked good leadership from competent women. Willy, in turn, tried in vain to convince Clint that he’d like to be tied to a bedpost. 

“Oh, shut up. Pervert.”

Once the boiled eggs cooled, the assembly line began in earnest. Clint did the peeling. Marnie sliced the eggs in half and scooped the yolks out, setting the whites on a plate and the yolks in a bowl. Gus took the bowl and added mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, and a secret blend of spices to make a paste. Clint moved over, scooped the paste into each egg white, and slid each completed plate back to Marnie. She chopped chives for garnish and sprinkled them on the plates, which she handed off to Gus. Gus finished the plates with paprika.

As they worked, they talked. They placed bets on who would win the egg hunt, shared tips on where to hide eggs, and told stories of Egg Festivals gone by.

“Remember when Mona won the egg hunt that one year?” Gus asked.

“I don’t know how the heck she did that!” Marnie laughed. “She was, what, seventy years old?”

“I know how the heck she did that!” Willy called from the dish pit. “Abigail wanted the stupid hat that the Mayor gives the winner! So Mona went out the night before the egg hunt, snuck past the barricade, found all the eggs, and entered the egg hunt the next day! Of course she won, and Abigail got the hat.”

“Oh, Yoba!” Clint shook his head. “Mona spoiled that girl rotten.”

“Well, you know,” Marnie said, “with a businessman for a dad, and a mom who’s a little flighty sometimes, and the arguments those two had over the years...Abigail needed a little spoiling. She’s a good girl now. A good young woman.”

“Yeah, but she’s into all that creepy stuff! Ghosts! Black magic!” Willy yelled. His voice, and the sound of spraying water, echoed out of the bowl he was washing.

“It takes all kinds,” Gus said calmly. “I am a man of Yoba. I firmly believe that it is my job in this life to do the divine work of Yoba, through loving and serving. But there is magic in this world, magic created by Yoba. And while it’s not the place of us goodly religious folk to go poking around in the occult, there are witches and wizards and ghosts and spirits. Why is a question best left to Yoba’s Knowing Wisdom, but they are there.”

Clint nodded. “Think that has something to do with how Emily is?”

“All knees and elbows and not your girlfriend?” Willy crowed.

“Shut up, ya mermaid fart!” Clint gave Willy a rude gesture.

Marnie reached over and gave Clint a reassuring rub on the shoulder. “Being on the wrong end of a crush hurts.”

Clint sighed and closed his eyes. “Doesn’t it?”

Gus kept talking. “Emily calls herself an empath. She feels other people’s emotions. She says she sees their auras. She’s in tune with the vibrations of the universe, that’s why she talks about using crystals to heal and how people need their energy fields fixed.”

“Do you believe that?” Marnie asked.

“In a way,” Gus said plainly. “I don’t see auras. I don’t feel the vibrations of the universe. I don’t feel other people’s emotions, unless they’re being very deliberate about it, like slapping me or kissing me.”

Willy wolf whistled. “Who’s been kissin’ you lately?!”

“My mama, thank you very much!” He yelled over to the dish pit. “Bless her beautiful soul!”

“I thought you were gonna say something much ruder,” Marnie said.

“I was. But...Yoba’s work, and all that.”

“Ah. Good man. So do you really believe that Emily’s an empath and Abigail knows black magic?”

“Well, I have no reason to disbelieve them. And I have no reason to wear crystal necklaces or clean my aura or talk to ghosts, so I have no way to prove or disprove them. I take it at face value. It’s just easier that way.”

After all the eggs were filled, plated, and stored away, Gus closed the Saloon down for the night. He got an earful from Willy for not letting him have one for the road. He convinced Clint to walk Marnie home due to the time of night, though Clint didn’t need much convincing. 

As he drifted off to sleep that night, he thought about next year’s Egg Festival, and how he should recruit volunteers for beer again, because that really was a good way to spend an evening.


	4. The Setup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lewis, Robin, and Demetrius take care of the early morning festival setup. Lewis triggers Robin's temper, and Demetrius has an accident.

“Demetrius, will you please help me move these tables?” Lewis gestured to a trailer parked on the northeast corner of the town square.

“Sure.” Robin gave the Mayor a sideways look and headed in. “These are just the little bistro tables, right? I should be able to grab them, no problem. We might need more hands to set up the buffet, though.”

“Thanks, honey.” Demetrius grabbed the large carton of eggs from his wife. “I can hide these…” He opened up the carton. “Hey!”

“What?”

“Someone’s trying to be sneaky!” He laughed, showing the carton to Robin and Lewis. “They painted eggs to look like dirt and grass! That’s awesome!”

“That is pretty sneaky,” Robin said.

“You sure you want to move the tables, Robin? I don’t want to make a lady do the heavy lifting…”

Anger flashed across Robin’s face. “How long have you known me?!”

“I--I’m just trying to be nice!” Lewis took a step back.

“Pay attention! I showed up early to help! I volunteered to help! I lift things heavier than those tables every day!” Her voice rose, both in pitch and volume. “I could bench press you!”

Demetrius turned away and pressed his lips together, hiding a laugh.

“Look, I’m not trying to say you’re not strong,” Lewis said quickly.

“That’s not the point!” Robin was nearly screaming. “You’ve known me for what, fifteen years? And I’ve been a carpenter that entire time! I am a laborer! I lift things! Every year, every event, every day at work, I lift things! We go through this every year! And every year, you ask Demetrius or Pierre to do the lifting. I was the one who built Pierre’s booth and moved it into place!”

“Calm down--”

“Don’t say that!” Demetrius held a hand up.

Robin hoisted Lewis over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She marched him over to Pierre’s booth, admonishing him the whole way. “You are clueless! We have had this discussion at least twenty times! You are not utilizing your tools correctly!”

Over by the trailer, Demetrius cackled, then slapped a hand over his mouth.

“Mr. Pierre!” Robin barked.

“Yes, ma’am! Um. Why are you carrying the Mayor?”

“Who set up your booth?”

“You brought in the wood frame, ma’am, and I put the merchandise inside.”

“Thank you!” She set Lewis down. Her breath was even as she continued her tirade. “Alright, Lewis. You want someone to sell merch? Ask Pierre. Want someone to supply eggs? Ask Shane. Want someone to cook? Ask Gus. Want someone to lift some heavy stuff? ASK ME!”

She stormed back to the trailer. When she emerged, she had a bistro table in each hand.

Pierre turned to Lewis. “What did you do?!”

“Asked her husband to set up the tables.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s on you.” Pierre chuckled. “I’m all for treating ladies like ladies, but Robin’s a force of nature.”

“Yeah, I just wish she were more nature and less force sometimes…” Lewis grumbled.

Demetrius made the rounds, hiding eggs behind trees and bushes. He hid grass-patterned eggs in the grass, and dirt-patterned eggs in the dirt, going along with the camouflage plan. As he hid the last egg near the Mullners’ house, Alex walked outside.

“Mr. Demetrius! What’s up?”

“Hiding eggs.”

“Nice! Happy Protein Festival!” He laughed. “Can you give me any hints?”

“Yeah, Gus is making spinach omelettes.”

“I meant about where you’re hiding the eggs!”

“You don’t even do the egg hunt, do you?”

“No, but I might if I could win!”

“Oh, get outta here!”

Lewis interrupted. “I need all hands on deck to move the buffet tables, please!”

Demetrius tapped Alex on the arm. “Come on, man. These things are heavy.”

Lewis and Robin each took a corner of the table, dragging it out of the trailer. Demetrius and Alex grabbed the other corners.

Lewis spoke. “This table’s going all the way to the northwest entrance of the Town Square.” He strained to lift his corner of the table.

“Stop. We’ll all lift together on three. Bend your knees then press up, lift with your knees and not your back. Ready?” She paused and looked at each of the guys. “One, two, three!”

They hefted the table up and slowly started walking through the town square. Robin and Alex held fast to their corners; Lewis and Demetrius struggled.

“Remember to breathe, guys!” Robin called. “Say stop if you need--”

A table leg slammed down. Demetrius let out a loud profanity.

“Drop the table!” Robin set her corner down and ran to her husband. “Are you okay, honey?” As soon as she saw him, and the grotesque bulge in the front of his t-shirt, she jumped back. “Oh, disgusting, that’s your shoulder…”

“I’m...gonna sit down...right here.” Demetrius’s eyes fluttered.

“Don’t faint or you’re sleeping on the couch,” Robin joked. She grabbed his good arm and assisted him to the ground. She looked up at Alex. “Hey, you got a cell phone?”

“Yep!”

“Call Dr. Harvey, please.”

“Why not just walk him over?” Alex pulled out his cell phone.

As if to answer that question, Demetrius fainted. 

“He’s out cold. Does not deal well with pain. And a shoulder dislocation tends to produce a lot of it.”

“Are you really gonna make him sleep on the couch?” Alex laughed.

“Nah, he was nice enough to sit before he fainted. I just didn’t want him falling face first and getting more hurt.” She rubbed her husband’s back. “Poor guy.”

“Hey! Dr. Harvey! It’s Alex Mullner. Nah, not calling about myself this time. Mr. Demetrius was helping set up for the Egg Festival and dislocated a shoulder. Right, I think? He fainted, but I think he’s waking up now. Yeah, we’re, like, literally right outside your door, on the other side of the buffet table. Thanks!”

A few minutes later, Harvey came out. He was wearing pajama pants and a Zuzu City Sound Experience t-shirt, pushing a wheelchair, with a medical kit on his back.

“Good morning, Mr. Demetrius!” Harvey knelt down by Demetrius, who was laying on his side on the ground. “How are you feeling?”

“Like Yoba just stomped on my arm!” His breath was ragged. He sniffled.

“On a scale of one to ten, where one is very little pain and ten is the worst pain ever, how much does this hurt?”

“Nine!” Tears streamed down his face. “And I’m being serious!”

“Think you can move to the wheelchair?”

“No!” He cried.

Dr. Harvey’s face flattened. “Alright. We’ll get you some medication before we try to move you.”

“It’s 8:40,” Lewis said, to nobody in particular. “Ten minutes before Gus brings food out.”

“Let’s get Pierre to lift, and see if we can get Abigail out here, too. Lewis, Pierre, and Abigail on one side, Alex and I take the other, we should be able to get both tables out quickly."

While Harvey gave Demetrius pain medicine, Pierre grabbed Abigail. They made quick work of the buffet tables. Robin moved the bunny photo prop out to the square and delegated the decorations to Abigail.

At 9:00am exactly, the festival opened. Robin ran from the trailer, placing one last barrel of springtime flowers near the bunny photo. She jogged over to Lewis and gave him a high five.

“We did it!” She cheered.

“That we did! Thank you for your help.” Lewis clapped her on the back. “I’m sorry your husband was hurt.”

“Yeah, that’s why we don’t ask him to lift,” Robin said flatly.

“I’ll make sure the town coffers pay for his medical care.”

“Want me to send you a reminder?” Robin asked.

“No, I shouldn’t need one…”

“Alright. If we get the bill, I’ll just forward it to you.”

Lewis nodded silently.

“Happy Egg Festival! I’ll be in the clinic.” 

“Thanks again for your help!”

With that, Robin headed toward the clinic as visitors streamed into the town square.


	5. The Punch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pam puts a little something extra into the punch, loosening everyone up a little...except for Dr. Harvey, who sees it as a potential health problem.

“Mr. Gus! Is this punch safe?” Pierre folded his arms, watching people come and go from the punch bowl.

“Yes, sir! No milk, no egg, no nuts, obviously no shellfish, no strawberries, no kiwi, no apples or apple juice so you and Sam are safe, no grapefruit because it interacts with Mr. Mullner’s medications, and no alcohol so it’s good for the kiddos.” He put his hands on his hips and gave Pierre a smug smile. “It’s a mix of lemonade, orange, pineapple, and cranberry juices, with mandarin orange slices, pineapple chunks, and maraschino cherries mixed in.”

“Good! I wouldn’t want a repeat of last year…”

“Me neither! I had no idea you were allergic to strawberries!”

“Hmph. Well, I’ll give this a try…”

Pierre grabbed a clear plastic cup and ladled some punch in. Cautiously, he took a sip.

“Well?” Gus asked.

“Tastes great! We’ll find out soon enough whether you’ll be hearing from my attorney.” Pierre chuckled. “Just messing with ya. Happy Egg Festival!”

Gus shook his head angrily as Pierre walked away. He helped himself to a cup of punch, then wandered back over to the hot buffet table.

“What’s the good word, Gus?” Clint carried a plate, already loaded with scrambled eggs.

“Getting hassled for the punch.”

“Pierre?”

“Yeah. I put strawberries in last year’s punch, and we both found out that he was allergic. So he had all kinds of snark for me.”

“You know,” Clint said, hesitating a bit, “...never mind.”

“What?”

“Well, I’m not great at dealing with people, you know that. But as long as I’m not using Pierre as an example for how to make friends, I think I’ll be alright.” He chuckled.

Gus laughed brightly. “You’re fine, man. You are a genuinely kind human and it shows.”

Clint nodded. “Thanks, man. Now, if only a certain someone would notice.”

“A few someones are noticing. They may not be the ones you think, though…”

As Clint and Gus talked, Pam was on a mission. She’d walked over from the trailer with a JojaCo water bottle, one of the large-sized ones labeled “Now with 78% less lead!” She made her way to the punch bowl. 

Sam had just grabbed the ladle. Pam took it from him.

“Wait a second,” Pam whispered. “Lemme put a little somethin-somethin’ in there.”

Sam’s face lit up. “I’m just gonna grab some chocolate eggs, then!” He turned his back. “Coast is clear,” he whispered.

Pam uncapped the water bottle. She quickly dumped it in the punch and shoved the empty bottle in her purse. She swirled the ladle around in the bowl, then filled her cup.

“Sam, I’m sorry I interrupted you. You’re welcome to get some punch now.” Pam smiled brightly.

Sam chuckled and filled a cup. His eyes widened as he took a sip. “This is wonderful!” With a wink to Pam, he took his eggs and punch and went to find Sebastian.

Sebastian got a lemonade, but poured a cup of punch for Abigail, who told Leah about it. Leah told Elliott. Elliott got a cup for Willy, who suggested Clint have a taste. Clint got a cup for himself, and suggested Emily get one, too.

Word spread, and so did the intoxication. Caroline and Jodi parked themselves by the punch bowl, filling and refilling their cups, giggling and gossiping.

“He still thinks I have no idea.” Jodi gave Caroline a conspiratorial grin.

“How could you not? I mean, the only way it would have been more obvious is if you would have actually seen them…”

“Right? I guess even when they’re young adults, the ‘what were you thinking’ part of kids’ brains just isn’t there!”

“Oh, Sam was thinking, alright, just not with his brain!” Caroline giggled. “Who did he sneak in, anyway?”

“That’s the thing, I have no idea!” Jodi laughed. “I didn’t know he was seeing anyone! I’m still not sure he is!”

“You think it was Penny?” Caroline gestured to Sam, Penny, and Maru, having a laugh over by the flower garden.

“She would never!” Jodi gasped. “Abigail, maybe?”

Caroline laughed. “I doubt it! She has such an obvious crush on Sebastian. It’s almost sad!” She refilled her cup again.

“Wait a minute...what if Sebastian is the one Sam snuck in?” Jodi’s eyes widened at her own realization.

“Wouldn’t have to worry about a pregnancy!” Caroline high-fived Jodi with a cackle. 

“Hey Mom!” Vincent tugged on Jodi’s shirt.

“What’s up?”

“Can I have some punch, please?”

“Nope!” Jodi giggled. “This batch is for the grown-ups. But would you like some lemonade?”

“Okay!”

As Jodi poured him a glass of lemonade, Vincent grabbed a chocolate egg.

“Here you go, honey!”

“Thanks! When’s the egg hunt?”

“It should be coming up soon.”

“Excuse me, ladies!” Marnie grabbed a cup. “Mind if I grab some punch?”

“Go for it,” Caroline said.

Leah lined up behind Marnie. “The punch is unusually good this year!”

Marnie filled her cup and took a sip. “Yeah, it really is! Gus should serve this at the Saloon!”

Across the square, Emily and Maru were deep in conversation, sipping their punch.

“You should say something,” Emily said.

“No I shouldn’t!” Maru took another drink. “Not today, anyway!”

“I can feel a deep longing within you.” Emily put her hand on Maru’s shoulder. “The longer you hold your feelings in, the more they’ll eat you up inside!”

“They can just keep on eating, then,” Maru laughed. “I’m not about to look like a damn fool today!”

“Can you imagine how much more free you will feel once you confess your love?”

Maru let out a belly laugh. “No! I know how ridiculous I’ll feel when I get shot down, though!”

“But will you?”

Harvey walked up to the two women, punch in hand. “Hi Maru, hi Ms. Emily. How are you two doing this morning?”

“Hey, Doctor! Just waiting for the egg hunt,” Maru said.

Emily gulped the rest of her punch down. “Maru has a crush and she’s not gonna say anything about it. It is killing me!” Emily’s speech was emphatic, yet her words were starting to slur.

Harvey took a sip of punch. His eyes widened. 

“Come on, Harvey!” Emily said. “Why wouldn’t you let love be known?”

“Er...you...I think you’re asking the wrong person.” He cringed. “Isn’t the punch at this festival normally non-alcoholic?”

Maru laughed. “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!”

“It wasn’t labeled, either,” Harvey said. “What if the kids get into it? This seems...odd.” Harvey walked off, sipping his punch, leaving Emily and Maru to argue the merits of tipsy love confessions.

Harvey found Gus over by the buffet.

“Dr. Harvey! How are you, sir? Have you tried the deviled eggs?”

“Not yet, but I have tried the punch. Does it normally have alcohol in it?”

“Nah, I stopped that years ago, once Jas and Vincent were old enough to get their own. Didn’t want to cause trouble. This year, we have lemonade, orange, pineapple, and cranberry juices, with mandarin oranges. How do you like it?”

Harvey turned around and ladled some punch into a clean cup. He handed it to Gus without a word.

Gus took a drink. His face darkened. “And cheap vodka, apparently. That was not my doing.”

“Really!” Harvey took another sip of his own punch. “While I admit I appreciate its socially lubricating effect, especially on a festival day, this is a problem. Someone put alcohol in here without the knowledge or consent of the festival-goers. The kids could drink it. Someone could be on medication that interacts badly with alcohol. Someone could be pregnant and not know it. If we really want to get technical, serving alcohol without a license is a misdemeanor, unless it makes someone ill or a child gets it. Then it’s a felony.”

“Any idea who put it in there?” Gus asked.

“I thought it was you! I thought you meant to do it, and forgot to label it.”

“No.” Gus shook his head. “This is even cheaper than my well vodka. Probably Joja.”

“Knowing now that you weren’t aware of it, I have half a mind to call the sheriff! Who do we know who shops at JojaMart and is…”

“...a delinquent?” Gus asked. 

Harvey laughed. “I wasn’t going to say it.”

“Sam, Sebastian, Abigail, Shane, Pam,” Gus said, counting off on his fingers. “Possibly George, out of spite, and maybe Willy.”

“Willy doesn’t drive, and the closest JojaMart is in Grampleton. George doesn’t drive either.” Harvey took another drink of punch.

“Sam, maybe?” Gus asked.

“He doesn’t have a car, but he can navigate public transit,” Harvey said. “And since he was laid off from Joja, he might still get a discount.”

“Good point. We’ll keep him in mind. What about Shane? Same deal.”

“I doubt it,” Harvey said. “He wants to stop drinking, or at least cut back. He knows the detrimental effects that alcohol can have firsthand, and isn’t one to encourage other people to drink.”

“Abigail?” Gus asked.

“A definite possibility,” Harvey said, “but she rarely causes trouble. Now that I think about it, it couldn’t be Sebastian, either, because he doesn’t like any alcohol except for mead.”

“That leaves Pam.” Gus said. “Yoba’s ass. She’d totally do it, too.”

Gus poured himself another cup of punch and found Pam. 

“Hey, Gus! How’s it going?”

He took a sip of the punch. “Hey, Pam.”

“How’s the punch?” Pam laughed.

“Well, the cheap vodka obscures the interplay of the sweet cranberry juice and the acidic citrus and pineapple…”

“Oh yeah, that.” Pam chuckled. “Figured it could use a little somethin’ extra.”

“Listen. I’m only telling you this because I’m your friend. Harvey found out that the punch is spiked, and he is pissed right off.”

Pam rolled her eyes.

“Hey! He’s got good reason to be! Kids could get the punch. We don’t know who can’t drink because they’re on medication or whatever. Harvey’s out for blood, he’s all up in arms about how it’s against the law.”

“Yeah, well Harvey needs to lighten up! Maybe some punch would help.” Pam started to walk away.

“No!” Gus took her arm. “Don’t even joke about that. Now listen. I’m gonna make the spiked punch go away. I’ll replace it with more lemonade. I’ll tell Harvey we settled this. Next year, either myself or Emily will add shots to the punch for people who want them, and we’ll have non-alcoholic punch for everyone.”

“Aww, ya party pooper!”

“You don’t get it! I am helping you.” Gus spoke plainly. “Harvey’s talking about calling the law! I don’t want that to happen. I’m giving you an out. You and I will settle this by getting rid of the punch and agreeing that this will not happen again!”

“Fine.” Again, Pam rolled her eyes.

Gus quickly and quietly made the rounds, telling all the adults to get one more cup of punch. He then took the bowl back to the Saloon and replaced it with a pitcher of lemonade.

Harvey held the door for him. “Thanks, Mr. Gus. As much as I liked the punch, I don’t want a public health snafu on my hands.”

“Understood.”

“Did you find out who spiked it?” Harvey’s eyes narrowed.

“I have my suspicions, but no proof,” Gus said. “Nothing that would hold up in court. Next year, either Emily or myself will set up a little bar where we can check IDs and serve alcohol to the people who want it.”

“That’s a great idea! And I’ll definitely take you up on it.”


	6. The Egg Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between the camouflaged eggs, Demetrius's creative hiding spots, and a bigger crowd, this year's egg hunt is more challenging than ever! Who will win? And will the kids be able to find any eggs?

“Are you gonna enter the egg hunt this year, Sebby?” Abigail, still tipsy from the punch, put an arm around Sebastian.

“Um…” He blushed. “If you want me to.”

“Yes! I want you to! I want a challenge! I’m gonna ask everyone to be in the egg hunt!” With that, she flounced off.

Her next target was Haley, who was flirting with Alex. 

“Hey! Haley! Alex! You should do the egg hunt!”

Alex laughed. “Demetrius wouldn’t tell me where the eggs are hidden.”

“Good man!” Abigail giggled. “I want a challenge this year!”

“Seriously? I’d just want to win!” Haley tossed her hair.

“Maybe you will!” Abigail shrugged. “Normally, Robin hides the eggs. Demetrius did it this year, he doesn’t know where Robin usually hides them. New hiding spots, more people...this is gonna be awesome!”

“Eh…” Alex shrugged.

“Come on, what else would you do if you weren’t egg hunting?”

“Drink more punch?” Haley giggled.

“It’s all gone,” Abigail said. “There’s another lemonade out there, but the punch is gone.”

“Aww, man! I wanted to keep the party going!” Haley looked down at her mostly-empty cup of punch.

“You two should make a bet,” Abigail said. “Whoever finds more eggs has to buy the other a drink!”

“What do you think?” Alex turned to Haley and held a hand out to shake.

Haley nodded and shook his hand. “Deal!”

Alex’s eyes widened. “Woah, you shake hands like a boss…”

Haley blushed and giggled.

“See you at the egg hunt!” With that, Abigail hurried over to Maru, Penny, and Sam.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Mayor Lewis’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker. It’s almost time for--”

“What about boys and girls?!” Vincent interrupted.

The Mayor laughed. “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! It’s almost time for the egg hunt! Please meet in the town square if you’ll be hunting for eggs.”

“Come on!” Abigail grabbed Sam’s arm. “Maru, get Penny! The egg hunt’s gonna be huge this year!”

Sam and Abigail, along with Maru, Penny, Sebastian, Haley, Alex, Vincent, and Jas, gathered for the egg hunt.

“Big crowd this year!” Lewis said. “There are some new faces here, so I’ll go over the rules. Find eggs.”

The crowd laughed.

“You have one minute to find as many eggs as possible. All eggs are hidden outside, between the areas of the hill behind Pierre’s and the clinic to the north, to the river to the south; and from Ms. Jodi’s house to the west to the river to the east. Whoever finds the most eggs is the winner. Ready?”

“Yeah!” The crowd yelled. Vincent, Jas, and Abigail jumped in the air.

Mayor Lewis blew the whistle. The egg hunters took off running. Abigail checked the usual spots first. There was nothing in the graveyard. There was nothing in the Mayor’s backyard. Abigail ran down to the river, finally finding a pink egg hiding near the bank.

“Yoba! Finally!” She scoured the riverbank and pulled up another egg, this one painted to look like the grass. “Oh, nice, one of mine!”

Maru was empty-handed. She did a double take when she saw Haley run by with three eggs.

Alex scoured his own backyard, finding one egg. He also found one in the tree just east of his house. He ran to the river. Floating on the water, in a toy boat most likely taken from the trailer’s front yard, was an egg.

“That son of a--”

The whistle blew.

“Egg hunters! Make your way back to the town square.”

One by one, the egg hunters walked up to Lewis and dropped their eggs in a wicker basket. He marked down how many eggs each person had found. 

Jas put her one egg in the basket, his lower lip trembling. “I only found one.”

Tears ran down Vincent’s face. “And I only found ZERO!”

George rolled up to the Mayor and grabbed the basket. “Gimme those,” he said, to nobody in particular.

Lewis shrugged. “Our winner this year, with four eggs...Haley!”

“WHAT?!” Abigail and Haley screamed in unison.

“No way!” Abigail patted Haley on the back with a smile. “That’s so cool! The egg hunt was actually HARD this year! And now Alex has to buy you a drink!”

As Alex, Haley, and Abigail talked, George and Evelyn huddled together. Evelyn disappeared inside the house.

“As winner of the egg hunt, Haley, you get a prize!” Mayor Lewis crowned Haley with a straw hat.

“Thanks,” she said, “If this had a ribbon around it, it might actually be cute!”

The Mayor’s face fell as Emily’s perked up. “Say no more! I’ll help you out with that!” More quietly, she added, “You should be wearing a hat for sun protection anyway. I’ll make it cute.”

George found Vincent and Jas, pouting and complaining to Jodi.

“You know what, kids?” he said.

Jodi held up a finger. “Please don’t tell them life isn’t fair, it won’t help,” she said quietly.

George seemed to ignore her. “Granny set up a kids-only egg hunt at our house. Come on over! Ms. Jodi, you’re welcome to come over as well, to supervise.”

“What?” Jas stepped back. “There’s another egg hunt?”

“Kind of! I grabbed the eggs from the Mayor, Granny hid ‘em, and now you two can find ‘em!”

“But we can’t win a prize…” Vincent whined. Jodi shushed him.

“We don’t have any straw hats, but we have cookies!”

“Yay!”

With that, Jas and Vincent took off running to the Mullners’ house. Jodi stuck with George, who slowly rolled home.

“Thanks for doing this for the kids, Mr. Mullner,” she said.

“Life isn’t fair. They know that, we know that, so why not make it a little more pleasant whenever we can?”


End file.
